How to increase your level of motivation?

Season 2
Season 2
How to increase your level of motivation?
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Motivation is a vast, exciting and more complex subject than it seems. The proof? Surely you have already heard tons of tips to increase your level of motivation:

  • Get up early in the morning;
  • Put it on your agenda;
  • Imagine that your training is a date with yourself;
  • Don't you feel like training? Motivate yourself a little see!

These are all goodwill suggestions. On the other hand, does it work to increase your level of motivation?

Not so sure.

This is the subject that we explored with Jean-Michel Pelletier, sports psychologist. He works in particular with Playful, Academy of Sports Psychology and is a lecturer at the Business Challenge.

Daniel: What do you do when you're in the trough of a wave of motivation?

Jean-Michel: You have to look at what causes the variation. As an expert, we must ask the person what is blocking them, without projecting our perceptions. It is very difficult work. You, for example, what blocks you?

Daniel: This spring, I was less active because I was devoting all my energy to professional decisions.

Jean-Michel: You were in adaptive mode. It's more of a survival mode and it's very draining when there are multiple decisions to be made.

There is a theory called ego-depletion who mentions that the more decisions we make, the less energy we have left. The idea is to target mental energy more than motivation and to identify what gives us mental energy and what takes it away. By inserting activities that give us mental energy, we can better influence our level of motivation.

Daniel: How can you successfully motivate yourself during the pandemic if you are someone who enjoys social interactions?

Jean-Michel: We ask ourselves the real questions.

What element was I going to look for in the gym or in my team sport?

You have to ask yourself that question and be honest with yourself.

It should also be remembered that the closure of training rooms and indoor sports is a temporary situation.

What do you do when it's -20 degrees and you want to go skiing?

We organize ourselves, we dress more.

It's the same thing with the pandemic: how can we adapt if we want to do group activity? Would a running outing, even if it's not your favorite sport, be interesting?

In addition, there are psychological factors, control, competence and connection with the activity that we are going to practice.

Do not hesitate to say what really motivates you. Is the gym nice? Are there any inspirational quotes written on the wall? Is it because you seek attention from others? Is it the atmosphere that motivates you?

There are no right or wrong answers, as long as you are honest with yourself.

I often say that motivation comes from the environment in about 50% of cases. I give a lot to the environment. Is it facilitating for the person or does it block the person in his training?

Daniel: I'm disappointed… does that mean you don't have a magic recipe to increase our level of motivation?

On the contrary, I find it to be very good news because the recipes are already available on the internet. If I give you any advice, it will surely be mine. It doesn't mean they'll work for you.

Instead, you should ask yourself questions about what would help you be more motivated:

  • What do you really need?
  • What is important to you?
  • When is it good for you to train?
  • Why do you want to train?
  • Where is the best place to train?

Daniel: I have never valued the visual aspect of equipment or gyms. I always thought it didn't matter. Am I mistaken?

Jean-Michel: It's funny, that's what we call projection! You don't have to be good looking to be motivated, but it definitely influences other people.

Design is always relevant. It can always add to the motivation.

Bad design can also lead to mental blocks. Whether you are an athlete or a normal person, it can happen to you.

Daniel: what is a mental block?

This is my main expertise. You've probably seen it when you worked in a gym. I give you an example:

The person has not done any physical activity for 10 years. She doesn't feel comfortable, is tense, looks bored. The person is worried and checks to see if others are watching. The person feels so unwell that it attracts attention. It creates discomfort.

In this time, the role of the health professional is to try to dig to see what happened (often during adolescence). Has the person had any trauma?

I experienced it when I was young, when I am a sporty person. Imagine for people who weren't athletic.

Exactly the same phenomenon can occur with top athletes.

Daniel: How do you approach this with another person?

Jean-Michel: You have to give yourself the right to raise the issue with the person by asking, for example, I notice that you don't look comfortable, is there anything that could help you be more comfortable?

Daniel: Does proposing a common objective like the Corporate Challenge can it help increase motivation?

Jean-Michel: The group interventions and individual both have their place. Yes, when we do group activities, we add ease, accessibility and connection, it's really beneficial.

Sometimes it's really the little things that block people. Do you know what often blocks people from working out at lunchtime?

The hairstyle!

That's why you have to think about all of these things when you want to promote physical activity in a company.

Daniel: What are your next professional projects?

Jean-Michel: You can follow me on Playful Academy (Facebook). I will give different tools to get to know each other better and know what we want. It can help you! Also, your company can request to receive my lecture on motivation for physical activity as part of the Business Challenge.

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